Housing Needs Survey Report May/June 2014 Yealand Conyers Parish within the Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Cumbria Rural Housing Trust Redhills House, Redhills Business Park, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0DT T: 01768 210264 E: [email protected] W: www.crht.org.uk Data Protection Registration Number Z810236X Company Registration Number 292 0997 Registered Charity Number: 1064136 Cumbria Rural Housing Trust Redhills House, Redhills Business Park, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0DT T: 01768 210264 E: [email protected] W: www.crht.org.uk Yealand Conyers Parish Housing Needs Survey May/June 2014 CONTENTS 1. The Housing Needs Survey 2. Information and maps of area surveyed 3. Housing Needs Survey Executive Summary 4. Key Findings 5. Survey Graphs 6. Survey comments 7. Housing Market 8. Affordable Housing Definition & Eligibility Criteria 9. Survey Letter and Questionnaire Yealand Conyers Housing Needs Survey 2 May/June 2014 1. The Housing Needs Survey Background A dedicated Development Plan Document (DPD) is being prepared by South Lakeland District Council and Lancaster City Council for the whole of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Cumbria Rural Housing Trust (CRHT) was commissioned by South Lakeland District Council and Lancaster City Council, with the support of Arnside and Silverdale AONB Partnership, to conduct a Housing Needs Survey in each of the parishes within the AONB as part of the plan preparation process. The aim of the AONB Housing Needs Surveys is to provide additional evidence, at parish level, to supplement existing housing needs based evidence previously prepared by South Lakeland District and Lancaster City Councils. In South Lakeland that evidence specifically includes a Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA), undertaken in 2014 by arc4 and also the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) undertaken in 2009 by Roger Tym and Partners. In Lancaster, it includes two recent district-wide studies: the 2011 Housing Needs Survey undertaken by David Couttie Associates and the 2013 Independent Housing Requirements Study undertaken by Turley Associates. The local evidence in this report will be used to help the Councils understand the particular housing needs in the AONB, in line with paragraph 159 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The Councils will use all the housing evidence to calculate the objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the AONB, as set out in paragraph 47 of the NPPF. The Arnside and Silverdale Development Plan Document will form part of both authorities’ Local Plans. It will identify sites for new housing and employment to meet local needs and will set out planning policies to ensure that development reflects the AONB designation. Methodology and approach Housing need, and assumption of need, requires the assessment of the future population in an area, together with the number, type and age of households. This Housing Needs Survey is designed to identify households in need of affordable housing over a 5 year period, as well as other housing data collected from the survey responses. It aims to identify the following: • Establish if there is a need for affordable housing in the parish. • The number, type and tenure of affordable dwellings needed. • The desires of those in local need within the parish. • Inform policy for future development in the AONB. • Provide evidence of need for future planning applications. Yealand Conyers Housing Needs Survey 3 May/June 2014 The questionnaire is based upon a tried and tested methodology used by CRHT for over 25 years. Consultation with South Lakeland District Council and Lancaster City Council ensured it met their criteria, whilst retaining parity with other Housing Need Surveys completed by CRHT in Cumbria. A survey form and letter explaining the purpose of the Housing Needs Survey was posted to every household (100%) within the parishes of the AONB area. A self addressed envelope was included and a return date of Monday 16th June 2013 was given. The CRHT survey form comprises two sections: • Part 1 – gathers general information about those who live/work in the parish. • Part 2 – gathers more detailed information about those who state they are in housing need. To encourage responses, pre-survey publicity was circulated on South Lakeland District Council, Lancaster City Council and the Arnside and Silverdale AONB websites. A Consultation event, facilitated by the Arnside and Silverdale AONB Manager, was held on the 20th May 2014, with representation from the Parish Councils, local landowners and a number of organisations from the AONB Partnership. A consultation event will be held in the autumn of 2014, to discuss the findings of the surveys and any further implications for the AONB area. The Cumbria Rural Housing Trust housing needs survey is conducted at parish level and reports the needs and opinions expressed by the respondents who completed the survey. It does not capture the future needs or represent the opinions of all of the households in each parish, as some households have chosen not to respond. As a parish survey it does not include the needs of residents who live outside the parish or area surveyed, these views would be captured in a district wide survey. Neither does the Cumbria Rural Housing Trust parish survey use any statistical methods or weighting of figures, as in a district wide survey, rather it provides a snap shot in time of the needs and view of those who completed it. Yealand Conyers Housing Needs Survey 4 May/June 2014 2. Information and maps of area surveyed Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Arnside & Silverdale AONB is a unique landscape of national importance. It was designated in 1972 and covers an area of 75km2 in south Cumbria and north Lancashire. Recognised as one of England’s finest landscapes, the area is especially celebrated for its characteristic limestone landscape and diversity of wildlife. The primary purpose of AONB designation is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area1 and all local authorities have a statutory duty to pay ‘due regard’ to this purpose in carrying out their functions in relation to, or so as to affect, land in AONBs2. The National Planning Policy Framework provides specific guidance for development planning in relation to AONBs and Paragraph 115 confirms that AONBs ‘have the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty’. The statutory Arnside & Silverdale AONB Management Plan 2014-19 sets out a shared Vision for the area and describes how the area will be managed to conserve and enhance it for the future. The AONB Development Plan Document will act as a companion document to the Management Plan so that, together, both documents provide a comprehensive management approach that delivers both for the special qualities of the area and for sustainable development of local communities. 1 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949; confirmed by Section 82 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 2 Section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 Yealand Conyers Housing Needs Survey 5 May/June 2014 Yealand Conyers Housing Needs Survey 6 May/June 2014 Yealand Conyers Parish Yealand Conyers, in Lancashire, is the smallest parish within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 2011 census data states the parish contains 95 households, housing 190 residents, of these: • Almost ⅓ (32.6%) of the population are over 65. • Properties are mainly detached houses (47.2%). semi-detached (29.2%), terraced houses (12.3%), and flats; either purpose built or other (11.3%). • 66.6% households are owner occupied, 26% are privately rented. 8.3% are in other rented accommodation and 1% are social rented. Yealand Conyers Housing Needs Survey 7 May/June 2014 3 . Housing Needs Survey Executive Summary Below is an executive summary of the affordable housing need, information on those not in need, responses from all households completing the survey and other housing information. Parish Surveyed Return Date Surveys issued Surveys returned Return rate Yealand Conyers 16th June 2014 109 46 42.2% Affordable housing requirements, tenure and dwelling type Recommended General Older (over 55) Other Total affordable housing Accommodation Accommodation Accommodation tenure and dwelling type Smaller 1/2 Larger 3+ 1/2 Bedroom Sheltered Bedroom Bedroom Housing Rent 1 1 2 Intermediate 1 1 Housing/ Discounted sale Other 2 1 3 Total Respondents in affordable housing need • 7 respondents (15.21%) stated they or someone living in the household had a need to move in the next 5 years. • 3 households are in need of affordable housing. • The need is for two 1/2 bedroom flats or houses (2) and one 1/2 bedroom flat/ bungalow for an older household. • The tenure required is for two rented properties and one intermediate/discounted sale. • None of the respondents are registered on Ideal Choice Homes/Council list or on a local private landlord list. Yealand Conyers Housing Needs Survey 8 May/June 2014 Respondents not in need • 4 respondents stated they needed to move, but are deemed not to be in need of affordable housing. • The desired number of bedrooms of those deemed not in housing need is for two and three bed roomed properties. • The aspiration of housing type, of those deemed not in need, is mainly for houses, one for accommodation on one level and two indicated an interest in self-build as a housing option. • Demographic changes and the growing ageing population may well be having an impact on the demand for open market housing types. All household survey responses • Of all of the survey responses, 56.5% would support the construction of new homes in the parish for local people, 41.5% would not and 2% did not respond. • In the view of all respondents new homes are mainly required for young people, no further homes needed and small families.